Ive done long haul and domestic in the past year on AA and definitely no amenities domestic but the pillows and blankets were there on the long-haul. They already charge you for alcoholic drinks ( this was transatlantic so you may differ on your flight)- there would be an uproar if they did away with the limp blanket and pillow combo too.

This is ridiculous. And now, WHAT is my incentive, oh wise AA marketing department, to choose your cheAAp airline over, say... Southwest? You know, Southwest... the airline that gives free coke and pretzels.

Southwest just turned into Legend, and all they had to do was sit there.

Okay, I am exaggerating a bit- Conti is the one that gave me TWO FREE MEALS from ANC-IAH. But still. Between AA and WN, I can't find any reason to fly AA... especially since they're very stingy lately on their "sAAver" awards. By the way, since when is 25k miles "SAAVER"? Instead of saver and standard, they should call them "what you're used to but can't get" and "rip off, but it's all that's available."

Just a few days ago, I went ORD-SFO-ORD with them for $178RT, and also got and odd 5000 miles credited to my AAdvantage account, allowing me to get a 13 week Financial Times trial AND a 52 week Economist subscription. Plus, onboard I had plenty of space (31" there, ex TW plane, and 34" back, ex MRTC plane), free blankets, coffee and pretzels.

Seems like a great deal for less than 200 bucks!

"Get your facts first. Then you may distort them as much as you please" -- Mark Twain

I realize that AA is making these cost-cutting moves in response to the travelling public's demand for very low fares and the presumption that pax are unwilling to pay extra for any type of amenities.....but there is a limit to what is acceptable. I am not sure that the flying public will accept AA's approach in the long-run; its odd, we are at the point where the LCCs (which were always known for the low fares and limited inflight service) are offering more inflight service than legacy carriers such as AA.

If a pax pays a very low deeply discounted fare to fly on AA, they will live with the lack of inflight services, but what about the business pax that paid a thousand dollars or more for a last minute business trip on AA? Will this pax be happy paying a buck for a cola, not having a pillow, and not being offered even a snack?

Quoting EHHO (Reply 15):Well, I don't know about you folks, but I'm pretty happy with AA!!

Just a few days ago, I went ORD-SFO-ORD with them for $178RT, and also got and odd 5000 miles credited to my AAdvantage account, allowing me to get a 13 week Financial Times trial AND a 52 week Economist subscription. Plus, onboard I had plenty of space (31" there, ex TW plane, and 34" back, ex MRTC plane), free blankets, coffee and pretzels.

exactly...I fly on that route a heck of an amount of times......though I preferred their 738's on that route (and for a very brief time, 757's), flying their MD-80's are great....especially as EHHO said, the price and frequent flier mileage I get..

not to mention, people could talk all the smack they want about AA, but the bottom line is their stock is up 100% the past 3 months and up a whopping THREE HUNDRED and FIFTY PERCENT the past 16 months...

My family is flying COS-DFW-BHM on January05 and returning January 08...both flights are MD80 about 2 hours long....does that mean they will get nothing on board? Not even some beverages? I thought the $1 was for AMerican Eagle

Quoting Venezuela747 (Reply 20):My family is flying COS-DFW-BHM on January05 and returning January 08...both flights are MD80 about 2 hours long....does that mean they will get nothing on board? Not even some beverages?

Maybe nothing or... almost nothing.
Advice: Buy something before get on board.

'Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind'. Albert Einstein

Quoting Venezuela747 (Reply 20):My family is flying COS-DFW-BHM on January05 and returning January 08...both flights are MD80 about 2 hours long....does that mean they will get nothing on board? Not even some beverages? I thought the $1 was for AMerican Eagle

You will get beverages, the poster that said AA was stopping drink service apparently cannot take the time to understand the article.

Only American Eagle flights to/from LAX will be test marketing the idea as of 1.1

"You will get beverages, the poster that said AA was stopping drink service apparently cannot take the time to understand the article."

Excuse me, with all do respect, he understood it fine and exagerrated it to make a point.

AMR corp owns both AE and AA . . . they are one company. Now, Eagle is testing this out at the LAX hub (yes, it is an Eagle hub). If it works, it will be spread throughout the system . . . and when I say system I mean AA and AE.

I think the pt he was trying to make was clear: we have reached an all-time low. The world's largest airline will begin the testing process to eventually charge for soft drinks.

AA Reduce On-Board Amenities?

No. Unless they get rid of window shades, there is nothing left to reduce.

The last two posts are correct. An article in the Houston Chronicle said that this was a test to see if they can get away with it. If they can and don't ruffle too many feathers the article said all AE and AA flights will go to this service format.

Quoting Dc10s4ever (Reply 5):On 1/1...AA will begin charging $1.00 for 12 oz can of sodas in Y class. A complimentry cup of ice will be provided.

If this is for real, how can AA claim to be full service? WN is making more effort! (and i'm no fan of them either!) Hell, they're getting one step closer to Ryanair everyday.

Quoting Dutchjet (Reply 17):but what about the business pax that paid a thousand dollars or more for a last minute business trip on AA? Will this pax be happy paying a buck for a cola, not having a pillow, and not being offered even a snack?

They better add a few more rows of F in those MD-80s, and maybe squeeze a few more in the 738s by going 5-abreast. Those folks DESERVE more than this...they're paying for it, and if AA is going down this path, then the better bloody well start upgrading. Even if they kept the front cabin full of economy seats but made it seperate and made it REAL full service (privacy, quiet space(no high school girls cheer leaders teams and screaming babies) and real food + news papers)

Quoting Kahala777 (Reply 27):Would the Flight Attendants be able to make change for the quarters needed to access the lav?

Probably not because you are in a confined space, and unable to escape. The laws of illegal imprisonment don't completely apply (because you can't just open the door inflight) but I would imagine (not being familiar with the relevent US laws on this but going more on international trends...american legal wizzes please step in now) that making such facilities in these circumstances is probably required. Your basic right to leave is being taken away from you, which would normally be illegal imprisonment, so your ability and choice to use other facilities is gone.

However, AA may very well be able to get away with charging for toilet paper.

Quoting Type-Rated (Reply 25):Coffee and water will continue to be free. What's next, pay toilets?

Filter coffee costs less than $0.02 cents a cup if its black. The cup usually costs more than the coffee. Why bother with this even? It's not impressing anybody, and they could probably charge $2 bucks for bottomless. Hell, be brave and maybe install expresso machines (CX, BA, SQ and QF have them in long range a/c) and start and 'inflight cafe' experience. To this we could add snap frozen cheese cakes, caramel slice, danishes, maybe so turkish bread rolls etc. Okay there are logistical issues. The point is, if we are going to start charging, then a product that somebody wants needs to be offered and not these 'chemicals in a shitty box' buy on board things. Look at these rolls the dutch airline, Transavia loads onboard.
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This just made my mind up. Next year I am going to be based in the US. AA and oneworld are now out of the running. This, just isn't good enough.

It amazes me how people here leap to conclusions. The soda thing is a TEST on some Eagle flights out of LAX. That's all. A test will either succeed or fail. Judging by the reactions in this forum, it will fail miserably. And that will be that.

We have tested all kinds of things that never made it into standard procedure. And have reversed decisions that proved to be mistakes. Give us a little credit, please.

The views expressed are my own, and not necessarily those of my employer.

Quoting TWAMD-80 (Reply 26):Well considering it's after the holiday season, I guess no one can say bah humbug. Yeah sure

HAHAHA, Well Said Tim, well said!

Quoting Lufthansa (Reply 28):If this is for real, how can AA claim to be full service? WN is making more effort! (and i'm no fan of them either!) Hell, they're getting one step closer to Ryanair everyday.

I was JUST talking to my friend about this how much AA is becming the Ryan Air of USA. Truth is, WN has always been more full service then AA in the past couple of years

Alex

Good things come to those who wait, better things come to those who go AFTER it!

Quoting Lufthansa (Reply 28):If this is for real, how can AA claim to be full service? WN is making more effort! (and i'm no fan of them either!) Hell, they're getting one step closer to Ryanair everyday.

Actually,
Allegiant Air is probably the "Ryanair" of the US. You have to pay for drinks and snacks on them. No other US airline has sunk that low so far..

I can recall what an a.netter said sometime ago. That when you buy a ticket with them is simply to transport you from point A to B. Period. Not to give you restaurant service on board or just a pillow.

Well... Where is AA going lately?

'Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind'. Albert Einstein

Quoting TACAA320 (Reply 32):That when you buy a ticket with them is simply to transport you from point A to B. Period. Not to give you restaurant service on board or just a pillow.

Then American Airlines should state publicaly that they are no longer a domestic full service airline! Simple as that! Arent there laws against false advertising?

Quoting FLFlyGuy (Reply 29):It amazes me how people here leap to conclusions. The soda thing is a TEST on some Eagle flights out of LAX. That's all. A test will either succeed or fail. Judging by the reactions in this forum, it will fail miserably. And that will be that.

Test? Yes, it may be a test.. But it just shows how desperate times are in Ft. Worth! How can you call yourself a full service airline when you cant offer pillows, blankets, meals, and charge for a soda pop?

By the time this "test" is over the damage will have been done. The "test" is being done in markets where Southwest, United, and United Express offer free beverages. Say what you may this is the worst idea the boys in DFW could have come up with!

They are full service airline when you pay for first class. 2nd they are doing all of us a favor by dumping the pillows and hopefully soon the blankets. Do you know what those pillows went thru they prob only changed the cover on them ever 2 days and the pillow itself prob never got cleaned. NEVER NEVER use the airplanes pillows & blankets unless they are sealed in a bag

Who will? Are you referring to United Express? It is not part of United Airlines corporate culture to charge for such basic amenities as soda on flights. United Airlines may have a few problems, yet for you to exert they are going to do such a thing is unfounded!

Quoting Ripcordd (Reply 35):they are doing all of us a favor by dumping the pillows and hopefully soon the blankets.

Okay, quite honestly, that's putting a spin on the situation that's total BS. You're saying that you'd prefer not to have anything at all and that the airline is doing you a favor? Come on, there are rational arguments and irrational arguments, and this one shows that you're trying to come up with a positive spin for a definitely negative move.

Nobody is forcing you to take the pillows and blankets, but for those pax who do wish to have them, they're a nice benefit. CO still provides them on domestic flights, and people still take them out of the overhead bins as they walk by. Clearly, they're still in some demand.

This is really quite unbelievable. I have to imagine that whatever amount of money this earns (assuming this spreads systemwide) will be more than destroyed by the corresponding loss of goodwill. Switching to CO looks better all the time; anyone know if they comp for EXP status?

New airplanes, new employees, low fares, all touchy-feely ... all of them are losers. -Gordon Bethune

I just flew AALAX-EWR and there were free pillows and blankets for everyone and they showed a fantastic Peter Sellers movie, "A Shot in the Dark" in the main cabin. We got in 15 minutes early, and I was able to sit in the exit row. This 757 had the new seat covers also.

I honestly don't see what the big deal is with the "lacking" service at AA. Everytime I've flown them they have been great. I find it to be better than the competition.

Quoting AJRfromSYR (Reply 6):No where else does one get free drinks... it makes sense. You have to pay on the train.

Ummmm. American Airlines is NOT the train. And to answer your dumb question "where else does one get free drinks?" ..... UNITED (for one).

My god -- if theyre that freakin broke and desperate they should just shut the h*ll down and call it a day.

The AA of today is an embarassment to the AA of yesterday - more so than almost any other carrier I can think of.

I never thought we'd see the day when LCCs like WN were offering more service onboard (and all around, really) than these "legacy" (read: tired, old, rotting, topheavy, gangrenous) carriers. Yep -- gotta give it to AA --they're sure leading the pack again - to the desert.

Quoting Kahala777 (Reply 37):Who will? Are you referring to United Express? It is not part of United Airlines corporate culture to charge for such basic amenities as soda on flights. United Airlines may have a few problems, yet for you to exert they are going to do such a thing is unfounded!

Why don't you just put a flag of UA colors in your profile? Your comments are so biased it is truly laughable.

Your assumption of AA systemwide is unfounded!!!!! LOL

Quoting JFKLGANYC (Reply 23):Excuse me, with all do respect, he understood it fine and exagerrated it to make a point

With all due respect, why can't people discuss things like adults instead of spoiled little brats?

Ah the days of a selection of three meals in coach. The days of Chateau Briand in First Class. DEREGULATION!! The word and deed in 1976 that changed us all.

The legacies could not keep up with the unbelievable growth of the LCC's. They constantly rushed to put out fires in small cities, in large markets. That took up immense amounts of energy and money.

They watched their markets erode away, little by little, until one by one, they realized the worst nightmare scenario had arrived just as predicted in 1976.

The compounding of 9/11, loss of market share, and increase in fuel allowed the door to swing open to these "airline consultants" that somehow have managed to invade an area of commerce that they have NO business in.

We, in the business, know it's the little things that make the difference.

People see a reduction in service as a personal affront. The reduction in expense cannot possibly be measured in the perceived concepts of customer service and loss of customers.

Whether we want to admit it or not, people want to believe they are still flying on a graceful jet, with pretty stewardesses and handsome stewards handing out little amentities with a graceful air. They want to be spoonfed "bad" information as a child, and soothed as they are informed of diverted flights, or lost luggage.

This is what their parents told them it would be like, if they flew. And now look what has happened?

I understand the need to charge more for stuff. I get my "briefings" everyday. I just wish it could go back to the good old days, just like you guys do.

In regards to even testing the charge for twelve ounces of soda, is completely tacky and frugal. In my opinion it's sad you're even backing up the "testing" of this in crappy AE markets. This is beyond belief.

I thought your carrier would bring back at least complimentary meals on their transcons, especially LAX/SFO-JFK flights but no such thing has happened, and looking at what is happening now, it never will happen.

Quoting F27XXX (Reply 42):The AA of today is an embarassment to the AA of yesterday - more so than almost any other carrier I can think of.

I think the bigger embarassment is having a management team that can't get the carrier out of bankruptcy after over 2 years. United may not charge for drinks (neither does AA, mind you...its only a test on Eagle), but at least they are trying to look for ways to save and make money. AA has never filed for bankruptcy, and is trying to avoid the situation. The AA of today is in a vastly different situation today and is trying its best to adapt to today's environment of high fuel costs, customers who are looking for cheap flights but expect the world, and competitors who are in bankruptcy.